Chapter 2

The Wave Equation

After substituting the fields D and B in Maxwell’s curl equations by the expressions
in (1.20) and combining the two resulting equations we obtain the inhomogeneous
wave equations

1 ∂2E
 
∂ ∂P
∇×∇×E + 2 2
= −µ0 j+ + ∇×M (2.1)
c ∂t ∂t ∂t
1 ∂2H ∂P 1 ∂2 M
∇×∇×H + = ∇ × j + ∇ × − (2.2)
c2 ∂ t2 ∂t c2 ∂ t2

where we have skipped the arguments (r, t) for simplicity. The expression in the
round brackets corresponds to the total current density
∂P
j = j+ + ∇×M , (2.3)
∂t
where j is the source and the conduction current density, ∂P/∂t the polarization
current density, and ∇ × M the magnetization current density. The wave equations
as stated in Eqs. (2.1) and (2.2) do not impose any conditions on the media and
hence are generally valid.

2.1 Homogeneous Solution in Free Space

We first consider the solution of the wave equations in free space, in absence of
matter and sources. For this case the right hand sides of the wave equations are

19
20 CHAPTER 2. THE WAVE EQUATION

zero. The operation ∇ × ∇× can be replaced by the identity (1.27), and since in
free space ∇ · E = 0 the wave equation for E becomes

1 ∂2
∇2 E(r, t) − E(r, t) = 0 (2.4)
c2 ∂ t2

with an identical equation for the H-field. Each equation defines three independent
scalar equations, namely one for Ex , one for Ey , and one for Ez .

In the one-dimensional scalar case, that is E(x, t), Eq. (2.4) is readily solved by
the ansatz of d’Alembert E(x, t) = E(x−ct), which shows that the field propagates
through space at the constant velocity c. To tackle three-dimensional vectorial
fields we proceed with standard separation of variables

E(r, t) = R(r) T (t) . (2.5)

Inserting into Eq. (2.4) equation leads to

∇2 R(r) 1 ∂ 2 T (t)
c2 − = 0. (2.6)
R(r) T (t) ∂ t2
The first term depends only on spatial coordinates r whereas the second one
depends only on time t. Both terms have to add to zero, independent of the values
of r and t. This is only possible if each term is constant. We will denote this
constant as −ω 2 . The equations for T (t) and R(r) become

∂2
T (t) + ω 2 T (t) = 0 (2.7)
∂ t2
ω2
∇2 R(r) + R(r) = 0 . (2.8)
c2
Note that both R(r) and T (t) are real functions of real variables.

Eq. (2.7) is a harmonic differential equation with the solutions

T (t) = c′ω cos[ωt] + c′′ω sin[ωt] = Re{cω exp[−iωt]} , (2.9)

where c′ω and c′′ω are real constants and cω = c′ω + ic′′ω is a complex constant. Thus,
according to ansatz (2.5) we find the solutions

E(r, t) = R(r) Re{cω exp[−iωt]} = Re{cω R(r) exp[−iωt]} . (2.10)

2.1. HOMOGENEOUS SOLUTION IN FREE SPACE 21

In what follows, we will denote cω R(r) as the complex field amplitude and abbrevi-
ate it by E(r). Thus,
E(r, t) = Re{E(r) e−iωt } (2.11)

Notice that E(r) is a complex field whereas the true field E(r, t) is real. The sym-
bol E will be used for both, the real time-dependent field and the complex spatial
part of the field. The introduction of a new symbol is avoided in order to keep the
notation simple. Eq. (2.11) describes the solution of a time-harmonic electric field,
a field that oscillates in time at the fixed angular frequency ω. Such a field is also
referred to as monochromatic field.

After inserting (2.11) into Eq. (2.4) we obtain

∇2 E(r) + k 2 E(r) = 0 (2.12)

with k = |k| = ω/c. This equation is referred to as Helmholtz equation.

2.1.1 Plane Waves

To solve for the solutions of the Helmholtz equation (2.12) we use the ansatz

E(r) = E0 e±ik·r = E0 e±i(kx x+ky y+kz z) (2.13)

which, after inserting into (2.12), yields

ω2
kx2 + ky2 + kz2 = (2.14)
c2
The left hand side can also be represented by k · bf k = k 2 . For the following we
assume that kx , ky , and kz are real. After inserting Eq. (2.13) into Eq. (2.11) we
find the solutions
E(r, t) = Re{E0 e±ik·r−iωt } (2.15)

which are called plane waves or homogeneous waves. Solutions with the + sign
in the exponent are waves that propagate in direction of k = [kx , ky , kz ] . They
are denoted outgoing waves. On the other hand, solutions with the − sign are
incoming waves and propagate against the direction of k.
22 CHAPTER 2. THE WAVE EQUATION

Although the field E(r, t) fulfills the wave equation it is not yet a rigorous solu-
tion of Maxwell’s equations. We still have to require that the fields are divergence
free, i.e. ∇·E(r, t) = 0. This condition restricts the k-vector to directions perpen-
dicular to the electric field vector (k·E0 = 0). Fig. 2.1 illustrates the characteristic
features of plane waves.

The corresponding magnetic field is readily found by using Maxwell’s equation

∇ × E = iωµ0 H. We find H0 = (ωµ0)−1 (k × E0 ), that is, the magnetic field vector
is perpendicular to the electric field vector and the wavevector k.

Let us consider a plane wave with real amplitude E0 and propagating in direc-
tion of the z axis. This plane wave is represented by E(r, t) = E0 cos[kz − ωt],
where k = |k| = ω/c. If we observe this field at a fixed position z then we’ll mea-
sure an electric field E(t) that is oscillating with angular frequency f = ω / 2π. On
the other hand, if we take a snapshot of this plane wave at t = 0 then we’ll ob-
serve a field that spatially varies as E(r, t = 0) = E0 cos[k z]. It has a maximum
at z = 0 and a next maximum at k z = 2π. The separation between maxima is
λ = 2π/k and is called the wavelength. After a time of t = 2π/ω the field reads
E(r, t = 2π/ω) = E0 cos[k z − 2π] = E0 cos[k z], that is, the wave has prop-
agated a distance of one wavelength in direction of z. Thus, the velocity of the
wave is v0 = λ/(2π/ω) = ω/k = c, the vacuum speed of light. For radio waves

λ E0

H0 k

Figure 2.1: Illustration of a plane wave. In free space, the plane wave propagates
with velocity c in direction of the wave vector k = (kx , ky , kz ). The electric field
vector E0 , the magnetic field vector H0 , and k are perpendicular to each other.
2.1. HOMOGENEOUS SOLUTION IN FREE SPACE 23

λ ∼ 1 km, for microwaves λ ∼ 1 cm, for infrared radiation λ ∼ 10 µm, for visible
light λ ∼ 500 nm, and for X-rays λ ∼ 0.1 nm, - the size range of atoms. Fig. 2.2
illustrates the length scales associated with the different frequency regions of the
electromagnetic spectrum.

A plane wave with a fixed direction of the electric field vector E0 is termed lin-
early polarized. We can form other polarizations states (e.g. circularly polarized
waves) by allowing E0 to rotate as the wave propagates. Such polarization states
can be generated by superposition of linearly polarized plane waves.

Plane waves are mathematical constructs that do not exist in practice because
their fields E and H are infinitely extended in space and therefore carry an infinite
amount of energy. Thus, plane waves are mostly used to locally visualize or ap-
proximate more complicated fields. They are the simplest form of waves and can
be used as a basis to describe other wave fields (angular spectrum representa-
tion). For an illustration of plane waves go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plane wave.

Figure 2.2: Length-scales associated with the different frequency ranges of the
electromagnetic spectrum. From mynasadata.larc.nasa.gov.
24 CHAPTER 2. THE WAVE EQUATION

2.1.2 Evanescent Waves

So far we have restricted the discussion to real kx , ky , and kz . However, this restric-
tion can be relaxed. For this purpose, let us rewrite the dispersion relation (2.14)
as q
kz = (ω 2/c2 ) − (kx2 + ky2 ) . (2.16)

If we let (kx2 + ky2 ) become larger than k 2 = ω 2 /c2 then the square root no longer
yields a real value for kz . Instead, kz becomes imaginary. The solution (2.15) then
turns into
E(r, t) = Re{E0 e±i(kx x+ky y)−iωt } e∓|kz |z . (2.17)

These waves still oscillate like plane waves in the directions of x and y, but they
exponentially decay or grow in the direction of z. Typically, they have a plane of
origin z = const. that coincides, for example, with the surface of an insulator or
metal. If space is unbounded for z > 0 we have to reject the exponentially growing
solution on grounds of energy conservation. The remaining solution is exponen-
tially decaying and vanishes at z → ∞ (evanescere = to vanish). Because of their
exponential decay, evanescent waves only exist near sources (primary or sec-
ondary) of electromagnetic radiation. Evanescent waves form a source of stored
energy (reactive power). In light emitting devices, for example, we want to convert

(a) z (b) z (c)

ky

kx k plane waves
x kx2+k y2 = k2

ϕ kz kx

x evanescent waves
E

Figure 2.3: (a) Representation of a plane wave propagating at an angle ϕ to the

z axis. (b) Illustration of the transverse spatial frequencies of plane waves inci-
dent from different angles. The transverse wavenumber (kx2 + ky2 )1/2 depends on
the angle of incidence and is limited to the interval [0 . . . k]. (c) The transverse
wavenumbers kx , ky of plane waves are restricted to a circular area with radius
k = ω/c. Evanescent waves fill the space outside the circle.
2.1. HOMOGENEOUS SOLUTION IN FREE SPACE 25

evanescent waves into propagating waves to increase the energy efficiency.

To summarize, for a wave with a fixed (kx , ky ) pair we find two different charac-
teristic solutions

Plane waves : ei [kx x + ky y] e±i |kz |z (kx2 + ky2 ≤ k 2 )

(2.18)
Evanescent waves : ei [kx x + ky y] e−|kz ||z| (kx2 + ky2 > k 2 ) .

Plane waves are oscillating functions in z and are restricted by the condition kx2 +
ky2 ≤ k 2 . On the other hand, for kx2 + ky2 > k 2 we encounter evanescent waves with
an exponential decay along the z-axis. Figure 2.3 shows that the larger the angle
between the k-vector and the z-axis is, the larger the oscillations in the transverse
plane will be. A plane wave propagating in the direction of z has no oscillations in
the transverse plane (kx2 + ky2 = 0), whereas, in the other limit, a plane wave propa-
gating at a right angle to z shows the highest spatial oscillations in the transverse
plane (kx2 + ky2 = k 2 ). Even higher spatial frequencies are covered by evanescent
waves. In principle, an infinite bandwidth of spatial frequencies (kx , ky ) can be
achieved. However, the higher the spatial frequencies of an evanescent wave are,
the faster the fields decay along the z-axis will be. Therefore, practical limitations
make the bandwidth finite.

2.1.3 General Homogeneous Solution

A plane or evanescent wave characterized by the wave vector k = [kx , ky , kz ] and

the angular frequency ω is only one of the many homogeneous solutions of the
wave equation. To find the general solution we need to sum over all possible plane
and evanescent waves, that is, we have to sum waves with all possible k and ω
( )
X
E(r, t) = Re E0 (kn , ωm ) e±ikn ·r−iωmt 2
with kn · kn = ωm /c2 (2.19)
n,m

The condition on the right corresponds to the dispersion relation (2.14). Further-
more, the divergence condition requires that E0 (kn , ωm ) · kn = 0. We have added
the argument (kn , ωm ) to E0 since each plane or evanescent wave in the sum is
characterized by a different complex amplitude.
26 CHAPTER 2. THE WAVE EQUATION

The solution (2.19) assumes that there is a discrete set of frequencies and
wavevectors. Such discrete sets can be generated by boundary conditions, for
example, in a cavity where the fields on the cavity surface have to vanish. In free
space, the sum in Eq. (2.19) becomes continuous and we obtain
Z Z 
±ik·r−iωt 3
E(r, t) = Re E0 (k, ω) e dω d k with k · k = ω 2 /c2 (2.20)
k ω

which has the appearance of a four-dimensional Fourier transform. Notice that E0

is now a complex amplitude density, that is, amplitude per unit frequency and unit
wave vector. The difference between (2.19) and (2.20) is the same as between
Fourier series and Fourier transforms.

2.2 Spectral Representation

Let us consider solutions that are represented by a continuous distribution of fre-

quencies ω, that is, solutions of finite bandwidth. For this purpose we go back to
the complex notation (2.11) for monochromatic fields and sum (integrate) over all
monochromatic solutions
 ∞ 
Z 
−iωt
E(r, t) = Re Ê(r, ω) e dω . (2.21)
 
−∞

We have replaced the complex amplitude E by Ê since we’re now dealing with an
amplitude per unit frequency, i.e. Ê = lim∆ω→0 [E/∆ω]. We have also included ω in
the argument of Ê since each solution of constant ω has its own amplitude.

In order to eliminate the ‘Re’ sign in (2.21) we require that

Ê(r, −ω) = Ê∗(r, ω) , (2.22)

which leads us to
Z ∞
E(r, t) = Ê(r, ω) e−iωt dω (2.23)
−∞

This is simply the Fourier transform of Ê. In other words, E(r, t) and Ê(r, ω) form
a time-frequency Fourier transform pair. Ê(r, ω) is also denoted as the temporal
2.2. SPECTRAL REPRESENTATION 27

spectrum of E(r, t). Note that Ê is generally complex, while E is always real. The
inverse transform reads as
∞
1
Z
Ê(r, ω) = E(r, t) eiωt dt . (2.24)
2π −∞

Let us now replace each of the fields in Maxwell’s equations (1.32)–(1.35) by

their Fourier transforms. We then obtain

∇ · D̂(r, ω) = ρ̂(r, ω) (2.25)

∇ × Ê(r, ω) = iω B̂(r, ω) (2.26)

∇ × Ĥ(r, ω) = −iω D̂(r, ω) + ĵ(r, ω) (2.27)

∇ · B̂(r, ω) = 0 (2.28)

These equations are the spectral representation of Maxwell’s equations. Once a

solution for Ê is found, we obtain the respective time-dependent field by the inverse
transform (2.23).

2.2.1 Monochromatic Fields

A monochromatic field oscillates at a single frequency ω. According to Eq. (2.11)

it can be represented by a complex amplitude E(r) as

E(r, t) = Re{E(r) e−iωt }

= Re{E(r)} cos ωt + Im{E(r)} sin ωt

= (1/2) E(r) e−iωt + E∗ (r) eiωt .

 
(2.29)

Inserting the last expression into Eq. (2.24) yields the temporal spectrum of a
monochromatic wave
1
Ê(r, ω ′) = [E(r) δ(ω ′ − ω) + E∗(r) δ(ω ′ + ω)] . (2.30)
2
R
Here δ(x) = exp[ixt] dt/(2π) is the Dirac delta function. Iif we use Eq. (2.30)
along with similar expressions for the spectra of E, D, B, H, ρ0 , and j0 in Maxwell’s
28 CHAPTER 2. THE WAVE EQUATION

equations (2.25)–(2.28) we obtain

∇ · D(r) = ρ(r) (2.31)

∇ × E(r) = iωB(r) (2.32)

∇ × H(r) = −iωD(r) + j(r) (2.33)

∇ · B(r) = 0 (2.34)

These equations are used whenever one deals with time-harmonic fields. They
are formally identical to the spectral representation of Maxwell’s equations (2.25)–
(2.28). Once a solution for the complex fields is found, the real time-dependent
fields are found through Eq. (2.11).

2.3 Interference of Waves

Detectors do not respond to fields, but to the intensity of fields, which is defined (in
free space) as
ε0
r
I(r) = E(r, t) · E(r, t) , (2.35)
µ0
with h..i denoting the time-average. For a monochromatic wave, as defined in
Eq. (2.29), this expression becomes

1 ε0
r
I(r) = |E(r)|2 . (2.36)
2 µ0

with |E|2 = E · E∗ . The energy and intensity of electromagnetic waves will be

discussed later in Chapter 5. Using Eq. (2.15), the intensity of a plane wave turns
out to be |E0 |2 since kx , ky , and kz are all real. For an evanescent wave, however,
we obtain
1 ε0
r
I(r) = |E0 |2 e−2 kz z , (2.37)
2 µ0
that is, the intensity decays exponentially in z-direction. The 1/e decay length is
Lz = 1/(2kz ) and characterizes the confinement of the evanescent wave.
2.3. INTERFERENCE OF WAVES 29

Next, we take a look at the intensity of a pair of fields

p
I(r) = ε0 /µ0 [E1 (r, t) + E2 (r, t)] · [E1 (r, t) + E2 (r, t)] ] (2.38)
p  
= ε0 /µ0 E1 (r, t) · E1 (r, t) + E2 (r, t) · E2 (r, t) + 2 E1 (r, t) · E2 (r, t)
= I1 (r) + I2 (r) + 2 I12 (r)
Thus, the intensity of two fields is not simply the sum of their intensities! Instead,
there is a third term, a so-called interference term. But what about energy con-
servation? How can the combined power be larger than the sum of the individual
power contributions? It turns out that I12 can be positive or negative. Furthermore,
I12 has a directional dependence, that is, there are directions for which I12 is pos-
itive and other directions for which it is negative. Integrated over all directions, I12
cancels and energy conservation is restored.

Coherent Fields

Coherence is a term that refers to how similar two fields are, both in time and
space. Coherence theory is a field on its own and we won’t dig too deep here.
Maximum coherence between two fields is obtained if the fields are monochro-
matic, their frequencies are the same, and if the two fields have a well-defined
phase relationship. Let’s have a look at the sum of two plane waves of the same
frequency ω
E(r, t) = Re{ E1 eik1 ·r + E2 eik2 ·r e−iωt } ,
 
(2.39)

I(x)
x

α β

k1 k2 I1+ I2
E1 E2

Figure 2.4: Interference of two plane waves incident at angles α and β. Left:
Interference pattern along the x-axis for two different visibilities, 0.3 and 1. The
average intensity is I1 + I2 .
30 CHAPTER 2. THE WAVE EQUATION

and let’s denote the plane defined by the vectors k1 and k2 as the (x,y) plane. Then,
k1 = (kx1 , ky1 , kz1 ) = k(sin α, cos α, 0) and k2 = (kx2 , ky2 , kz2 ) = k(− sin β, cos β, 0)
(see Figure 2.4). We now evaluate this field along the x-axis and obtain

E(x, t) = Re{ E1 eikx sin α + E2 e−ikx sin β e−iωt } ,

 
(2.40)

which corresponds to the intensity

1 ε0 
r
2
I(x) = E1 eikx sin α + E2 e−ikx sin β (2.41)
2 µ0
1 ε0 
r
E1 · E∗2 eikx(sin α+sin β) + E∗1 · E2 e−ikx(sin α+sin β)

= I1 + I2 +
2 µ0
p
= I1 + I2 + ε0 /µ0 Re E1 · E∗2 eikx(sin α+sin β) .


This equation is valid for any complex vectors E1 and E2 . We next assume that the
two vectors are real and that they are polarized along the z-axis. We then obtain
p
I(x) = I1 + I2 + 2 I1 I2 cos[kx(sin α + sin β)] . (2.42)

The cosine term oscillates between +1 and -1. Therefore, the largest and smallest
√
signals are Imin = (I1 + I2 ) ± 2 I1 I2 . To quantify the strength of interference one
defines the visibility
Imax − Imin
η = , (2.43)
Imax + Imin
which has a maximum value of η = 1 for I1 = I2 . The period of the interfer-
ence fringes ∆x = λ/(sin α + sin β) decreases with α and β and is shortest for
α = β = π/2, that is, when the two waves propagate head-on against each other.
In this case, ∆x = λ/2.

Incoherent Fields

Let us now consider a situation for which no interference occurs, namely for two
plane waves with different frequencies ω1 and ω2 . In this case Eq. (2.39) has to be
replaced by

E(x, t) = Re{ E1 eik1 x sin α−iω1 t + E2 e−ik2 x sin β−iω2 t } .

 
(2.44)
2.4. FIELDS AS COMPLEX ANALYTIC SIGNALS 31

Evaluating the intensity yields

1 ε0 D
r E
2
I(x) = E1 eik1 x sin α−iω1 t + E2 e−ik2 x sin β−iω2 t (2.45)
2 µ0
p
= I1 + I2 + 2 I1 I2 Re ei [k1 sin α+k2 sin β] x ei (ω2 −ω1 ) t

.

The expression hexp[i(ω2 − ω1 )t]i is the time-average of a harmonically oscillating

function and yields a result of 0. Therefore, the interference term vanishes and the
total intensity becomes

I(x) = I1 + I2 , (2.46)

that is, there is no interference.

It has to be emphasized, that the two situations that we analyzed are extreme
cases. In practice there is no absolute coherence or incoherence. Any electromag-
netic field has a finite line width ∆ω that is spread around the center frequency ω.
In the case of lasers, ∆ω is a few MHz, determined by the spontaneous decay
rate of the atoms in the active medium. Thus, an electromagnetic field is at best
only partially coherent and its description as a monochromatic field with a single
frequency ω is an approximation.

2.4 Fields as Complex Analytic Signals

The relationship (2.22) indicates that the positive frequency region contains all
the information of the negative frequency region. If we restrict the integration in
Eq. (2.23) to positive frequencies, we obtain what is called a complex analytic
signal Z ∞
+
E (r, t) = Ê(r, ω) e−iωt dω , (2.47)
0
with the superscript ‘+’ denoting that only positive frequencies are included. Sim-
ilarly, we can define a complex analytic signal E− that accounts only for negative
frequencies. The truncation of the integration range causes E+ and E− to become
complex functions of time. Because E is real, we have [E+ ]∗ = E− . By taking the
Fourier transform of E+ (r, t) and E− (r, t) we obtain Ê+ (r, ω) and Ê− (r, ω), respec-
tively. It turns out that Ê+ is identical to Ê for ω > 0 and it is zero for negative
32 CHAPTER 2. THE WAVE EQUATION

frequencies. Similarly, Ê− is identical to Ê for ω < 0 and it is zero for positive fre-
quencies. Consequently, Ê = Ê+ + Ê− . In quantum mechanics, Ê− is associated
with the creation operator ↠and Ê+ with the annihilation operator â.